Console Makers Worry Over Apple's Growing Competition 281
The NY Times is running a story about the effect Apple is having on the console gaming market, making Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo worry that consumers will be satisfied playing games on devices that aren't necessarily focused on gaming. Quoting:
"The concerns highlight an accelerating shift away from hard-core games, which have traditionally driven console sales, to more casual ones played on cellphones. Of the 758 new game titles shown at the Tokyo Game Show, 168 were for cellphone platforms — more than twice as many as in the previous year. ... Apple's assault could even eat into sales of home consoles like Nintendo's Wii, Sony's PlayStation 3 or Microsoft's XBox, as game-playing quickly becomes centered on cellphones. Many in the industry say that Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft need to explore more radical changes to their businesses, including an emphasis on software rather than hardware and a better way for users to download games. 'As a platform, the cellphone has the biggest potential, because everybody owns one,' said Kazumi Kitaue, chief executive at another game maker, Konami Digital Entertainment. A family with three children might buy just one Wii or PlayStation to share, but those children will probably have cellphones of their own and download and play games, Mr. Kitaue said."
Except that the iPhone is a TERRIBLE game machine (Score:5, Interesting)
Seriously, have any of these people actually played any games on it? They are uniformly quite terrible. The lack of physical buttons is simply too big of an obstacle. Sure you can do some interesting stuff with the accelerometer, but at some point you want to be able to mash some buttons to kill the baddies and the in this regard the iPhone simply sucks ass.
Don't think so... (Score:3, Interesting)
First, I'm more of a casual gamer. Frankly, the $60 titles generally don't hold my attention anymore and I've found the Arcade (xbox 360) titles to be much more fun. I think I've kind of gotten sick of the "wow look at the graphics!" "genre".
That being said, when I do want to sit and waste an hour or two playing games, I want to do so in the comfort of my living room with a nice 46" screen. Not a 3 inch screen. I want to play with a controller built at least somewhat ergonomically, not one that feels like my thumbs are going to snap.
I will concede that _any_ new game "system" will pull customers away from some other company to at least some degree, but I seriously doubt the top players need to worry about the iWhatever taking over their industry.
Although, diversifying in your target market(s) isn't a bad idea.
Price (Score:4, Interesting)
I think what apple is targeting is the cash strapped parent who kids want multiple mobile devices. Though $200 for an iphone or iPod touch might seem out of line for a kids first device, if it can serve as the personal computer for browsing, email, and reading, can text, take pictures and movies, and play some games, it might seem a good alternative to phone plus a psp plus a music player, etc.
Like the mac,which made graphic processing affordable, the advantage is likely to be short lived. It should be simple to get something like a PSP and add a phone and some other trinkets. If that can happen,then people will likely migrate to it. One thing that I am surprised to see is that MS is not integrating the Windows Mobile, xbox, and zune technology into single product. The fact that we are talking about MS Windows 7 and a new Zune to me is incompressible. A Zune that has and HDMI port, but cannot play games, is simply silly.
Re:Except that the iPhone is a TERRIBLE game machi (Score:4, Interesting)
Besides, while the Wii has had phenomenal sales, the other two consoles have still gathered an audience - numbers that most markets would BEG to have. The positive thing about the button mashers is that they're growing (gaming is very mainstream, even in the Xbox/PS3 variety) and they don't stop spending money. I mean, if the Xbox 360 and its failure rate (which may or may not be fixed; who knows) can lead the charge through the High-Definition consoles in this economic decline, what will get those gamers to stop spending money?
Re:Except that the iPhone is a TERRIBLE game machi (Score:5, Interesting)
Actually, I find that the mashing buttons to kill the baddies falls squarely on the Wii, while beer drinking FPS tournaments are 360's big thing, and heavily priced bizarre gameplay falls in the ps3 arena.
Regardless, the biggest issue seems to me to be basic economics. What is the cost of your entertainment. I've been interested in picking up a next gen console since the wii came out. I've played all three extensively, and at the moment, their price point is nearly identical. But for me to get one game out of a system, I need to drop about $300 for the base system WITHOUT any games, and $50 for a relatively old game (Mario Galaxy is still $50, 3 years in). With high quality games like Braid coming out on steam for $5-$20 the comparable initial drop of $20 to start playing and $350 to start playing is an obvious choice. Needless to say, despite the fact I've typically enjoyed console gaming for years, the higher price point for individual games combined with the cost of the systems (which haven't dropped to levels that I feel the purchase is justified), makes people who share this opinion swing away from them.
I still haven't swung toward cellphone games, because generally, across the board, I haven't found many of them that are on par with games from the super nintendo. Tetris maybe, but I haven't found a good solid push for thought provoking games for a cell. The biggest challenge for me is that the cost of old classics is finally pushing up into the current 'new game' price point that I have no interest in.
I'm mostly hoping this commentary will shed some light on the mindset of a, possibly atypical, non-hard-core gamer.
Re:Graphics (Score:2, Interesting)
It isn't about the graphics. Consoles have gotten to the point where everything is good enough. In the past, there was such a noticeable difference between console generations -- Atari vs NES, NES vs Super NES, N64 vs PS2. This generation has reached a point where graphics are good enough that there is not a huge need to upgrade in the mind of the consumers. Hell, the fact the people are still buying PS2 show that last generation is good enough for many people. Don't get me started on the Wii.
Game play counts. It has always counted and will always count. If graphics were all that anyone cared about, would anyone have ever played an Atari 2600? There are so many gorgeous games that just plain suck (Crysis, anyone?). There are plenty of games that have terrible graphics but are loved for the wonderful game play. How many people still pick up and play Super Mario? Starfox 64? Any Zelda Game?
If that was the case, then why aren't we satisfied with the original PlayStation, or the Super NES for that matter. Or even the original NES! Why aren't millions of people playing MUDs instead of World of Warcraft?
Try playing a FPS on an NES. How about a game like Mass Effect on a PS1. People upgrade consoles not just because of the graphics. Yes, graphics are apart of it, but so is things like RAM, Processor, and storage medium. People aren't satisfied with just a SNES for the same reason they don't still use 486's with Windows 3.1. By upgrading the hardware, it allows the developers to do more. More RAM means more and bigger levels. Faster Processor means more and better AI baddies. Also, Try fitting a 700+ Mb game on an Atari 2600 ROM Cartridge. It also helps that every five years, console makers tell people that they need to upgrade.
As for MUDs, they are very user-unfriendly that require arcane protocols that most people never use. Try telling Joe Sixpack how to use Telnet or how to dial into a BBS. I don't think that WoW is the best example of a graphically complex game. Last time I seen it, it still looked like a First generation PS2 game which proves the point that graphics aren't everything.
Re:Except that the iPhone is a TERRIBLE game machi (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Also (Score:3, Interesting)
Speed is the key (Score:1, Interesting)
Re:We're doomed!! (Score:3, Interesting)
It depends how much time you spend away from home...
I also have a DS, but i usually forget to take it with me, i also have an ipod but again i always forgot to take it... I've had a phone for years, which i always remember to take with me so now when i find myself on or waiting for public transport, waiting for food, waiting for someone etc, i play games or listen to music on my phone. I would have my phone anyway, no point carrying around multiple devices.
Apple recognised that the increasing power of modern phones would eventually make the standalone ipod obsolete...
Re:Except that the iPhone is a TERRIBLE game machi (Score:3, Interesting)
I find a lot of commercial games have extremely buggy network play these days... I never got to finish a multiplayer game of rise of nations over the internet, because one player would always drop out for some reason and bring the whole game to an end.
Re:We're doomed!! (Score:2, Interesting)
I used to play sudoku or Bomberman on my Motorola phone prior to obtaining the iPhone for the same reasons. I could turn on the phone and play a game or two in the time it took to get the home PC turned on and a game loaded (no actual play time). If the wife is wanting to watch a movie together, or if we are prepping dinner, running off to play an hour or two on the PC isn't practical.
The major worry? Pricing. (Score:3, Interesting)
The Nintendo DS version of Civilization Revolution was $30 at release. The Xbox 360 version was similarly priced.
The iPhone version is currently $5. It's essentially the same game. The controls aren't as good - and no one is saying that the other two don't have their place, because you don't always want to stare at a tiny screen. Developers have tried to put games for $10 on the App Store. While there's the occasional success, most of the time the reviews are filled with 1-star "$10 for a phone game?" reviews, and the game quickly shoots down the charts and out of the rankings and "Featured" lists.
Peggle for PC is still available for $10. It's the same price on the Xbox 360 (Live Arcade).
The iPhone version is $5.
The iPhone is causing people to shift their view as to an appropriate price point at the same time that many companies are trying to rip out a third of an otherwise complete Xbox or PS3 game so they can sell the rest as "Downloadable content" to squeeze that extra $5-10 out of each buyer. That, I believe, is terrifying to the marketing droids and finance people that actually run these companies.
Embrace and extend (Score:3, Interesting)
There is nothing stopping any of the console makers from embracing the iPhone, and turning it into an extension of the console experience rather than a competitor to it. (Well, okay, something might stop Microsoft, but Sony and Nintendo have nothing to lose.)
With a single app the iPhone becomes a full color smart controller, with mutli-touch, motion sensing, and a built-in camera.
Allow developers to incorporate that functionality into the iPhone versions of their console games, and you enable a seamless gaming experience from home (where the epic action happens) to the larger world (where you mini-game, grind, or play in smaller-scale settings).
Re:Except that the iPhone is a TERRIBLE game machi (Score:3, Interesting)